Egypt unrest: Does travel insurance cover this?

Hurricanes. Airport delays. Personal injury. Theft of documents. For obvious reasons, the most common motivations for buying trip insurance are pretty easy to guess.

Abdelhak Senna / AFP / Getty Images

Most folks, however, don’t consider that the country they’re going to for that once-in-a-lifetime trip (or bucket list trip) — and spending untold thousands of dollars to see — could possibly fall into political turmoil and social chaos in a matter of days.

What do you do with your tickets to see the Pyramids at Giza when Americans are being evacuated from the country? Does travel insurance cover this?

Yes, but only if you go for the upgrade, apparently.

In general, the base plans for most travel insurance companies “do not including cancellation due to civil unrest,” according to Carol Mueller of Travel Guard. Most companies, however, offer some form of “cancel for any reason” upgrade, she said. It’s an add-on that covers trip cancellation for, well, any reason.

While the upgrade can be pricey (depending on company and trip), it’s something travelers should consider if they’re making a large investment to see a country where civil unrest is even remotely a possibility. At the very least, ask about what is covered by the base policy and what it would cost to be covered for this type of situation.